World-leading Design Solutions for Commonwealth Games

Bligh Tanner was selected to join the BVN Donovan Hill team in the Design Bid competitions for the 2018 Commonwealth Games Sports and Leisure Halls at Carrara and for the Velodrome at Chandler.

The team was successfully appointed to the Carrara Sports and Leisure Halls, a project which also includes new headquarters for the Gold Coast Suns AFL team and transformation of the existing Indoor Sports Centre for weightlifting and overlay for the Carrara precinct during the Games.

‘We’re very excited to be involved in creating these facilities that will be enjoyed by people all over the world at the Games, and then by the community for years to come,’ said Rod Bligh, Director, Bligh Tanner.

‘The Carrara project has required complex planning for the Games and for the long-term ‘legacy’ mode, including interaction with the Gold Coast Suns facilities and the Metricon Stadium’ Bligh explained.

‘Other challenges — including site flooding, balancing of ‘legacy’ mode natural ventilation and air-conditioning for Games mode, temporary seating and pedestrian circulation through this primary Games hub — make this an interesting and exciting project to work on.’

The team’s design for the Velodrome in Chandler will remain unrealised however is recognised as highly innovative in ensuring the structural efficiency of the broad roof span.

The velodrome is set to seat 4,000 spectators and remain as a permanent venue for Queensland cyclists after the Games.

‘Our design for the velodrome roof was based on twin trussed arches stepped in elevation to enable ventilation and light. This approach optimises structural efficiency, and minimises steel weights for the roof span of up to 120 metres,’ said Bligh.

‘A major challenge of the design of the velodrome was determining how to erect the long span steel structures safely. The nine metre deep tied arches were designed with a stable upper box truss chord to allow the arches to be erected with minimal temporary stabilisation and off-site prefabrication, with the tension bottom chord site bolted.’

‘We’re very grateful to have had the opportunity to develop a range of design solutions for these large scale and complex projects – all the while considering budget and time constraints.’

The Carrara Sports and Leisure Halls project is currently at schematic design stage.